The senior citizens are generally vulnerable to various physical and mental impairments for which there is often no panacean remedy. The senile dementia is a case in point. However, it is clinically evident that the fleshy stems of herbs belonging to the genus Cistanche are effective in treatment of infertility, impotency, constipation, etc. In addition, the preparation made from the fleshy stems of such perennial herbs as described above is nourishing to blood and kidney. These parasitic and perennial herbs are widely cultivated in the northwestern provinces of China and are locally known as “desert ginseng”. The most abundantly cultivated species of the genus Cistanche is Cistanche tubulosa (Schenk.) Wight.
According to the systematic research done by the Japanese scientists on the chemical constituents and the pharmacological activities of the perennial herbs (genus Cistanche), phenylethanoid glycosides are the principal active ingredients of these perennial herbs. Such active ingredients are effective antioxidants, metabolic promoters, memory enhancers, sexuality enhancers, etc. The medicinal properties of various phenylethanoid glycoside compounds have been studied by many researchers. For such information, please refer to the following publications: Sato T., et al. Yakugaku Zasshi, 1985, 105 (12): 1131; Jimenez C., et al. Nat Prod Rep, 1994, 11 (6): 591; Cometa F., et al. Fitoterapia, 1993, 64 (3): 195.